Page 61 of The Perfect Distraction

Uh-oh. Here it comes. She braced herself to hear him say that this wasn’t a good idea. That it was too complicated, and since she was leaving soon…

“What are you doing for the Fourth?”

“The…Fourth…?”

“Yeah. You know, the celebration of our independence—red, white, and blue, fireworks, parades,” he replied, laughing.

Glancing across the yard, she saw that he was leaning against the deck railing, looking more relaxed than he had a few minutes ago.

“I hadn’t really thought about it yet,” she said truthfully.

“Well, that’s why Gretchen called. The Cherry Festival is going on in Traverse City that weekend, and she wants to take Joey. So, I was thinking that if you aren’t busy, maybe we could spend the holiday together.”

“The whole weekend?”

“Um-hmm. If you want to.”

Wow. That wasn’t what she’d expected at all, yet her heart was racing, and she felt dizzy with anticipation. Spending an entire weekend with him sounded…

“Beth?”

“Wonderful! That sounds wonderful,” she repeated, smiling in the dark. She peered across the yard, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he was smiling too.

Then he pushed himself off the deck railing and slowly turned to face in her direction. She saw his head move back and forth as he tried to see into her sunroom.

“Oops! I said that kind of loud, didn’t I?” she said, standing up and waving.

“Seriously? You were there the whole time?”

“Yes. But, in my defense, I was here first. I had no idea you would be coming outside.”

He gave a low laugh that vibrated right through her, and then he stepped off the deck and into the yard.

Beth eyed him warily and said, “What are you doing?”

“I’m coming over there.”

“What? Now? What about Joey?”

“Last I checked, he was sound asleep.”

“But what if he wakes up?”

“I’ll only be a minute.”

Seconds later, he was at the door of the sunroom, peering in at her. They disconnected at the same time, and Colton slipped his phone into his pocket while she set hers on the chair. She felt heady with excitement as she unlocked the door and stepped back to let him inside.

The next thing she knew, he pulled her up against him in an almost crushing embrace. She was in her pajamas, and the thin material made it easy for her to feel every ridge of his hard chest. Winding her arms around his neck, she sank into his embrace.

“This probably isn’t the best idea,” she said, gazing into his beautiful caramel eyes.

“I won’t stay long,” he said, his voice low and gruff.

“I’m not just talking about Joey.”

“Shh. I just came over to kiss you goodnight.”

There was no way she could resist him. She wanted this as much as he did, maybe even more. Tilting her head up and parting her lips, he smiled before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss. There was a sense of urgency this time as their tongues met and tangled, their bodies rubbing together in all the right places. It ended too soon, and Colton put some space between them while keeping his hands planted on her hips.